MAYSAM

How many new English words should I learn every day? I read somewhere that native speakers learn approximately one new word per day. Do they study vocabulary books? I doubt it! Do they make an effort to memorize those new words? Certainly, no!

Native English speakers learn new words through reading, listening, and speaking. Since almost all English-speaking nations are considered developed countries, they spend more time reading books, magazines, and newspapers than we do. No need to mention that they write and produce more stuff to read, too!

English-speaking countries produce more quality movies, documentaries, and TV programs than other nations. Take Hollywood as an example! It’s a fact that Bollywood makes more films yearly, but Hollywood makes more quality movies in almost all genres.

Non-native English speakers and learners mustn’t worry about the number of words they know. If you are a beginner, learn the top 500 or 1000 words ASAP. But after that, keep yourself engaged with those subjects you like or need for your daily life and business.

Read the books you like, watch your favorite TV programs, listen to interesting podcasts, and speak with the English speakers you know. That’s how you expand your vocabulary without studying boring vocabulary books. Do not count how many words you learn daily. Just embrace English as your language if you truly like and need it.

What’s the most beautiful language in the world? People have different answers to this question. In my opinion, languages are not beautiful by themselves. If you believe that English is a beautiful language, it’s either your mother tongue or you’ve read (or watched) something interesting in this language.

People like and adore the amusing/enjoyable stuff. Nobody would say English is beautiful if there were nothing fun to read in this language. The content matters. You can make people fall in love with a new language by writing about compelling subjects and stories.

My mother tongue is Persian (Farsi), as you know. I consider Farsi the most beautiful language in the world only because all my loved ones speak this language. I love Farsi because it helps me communicate and keep in touch with humans who make life bearable for me.

Arabic, English, Russian, and Italian are the four languages I tried or had to learn besides Persian. We had to study Arabic at school because it’s the language of the Koran and Islam. We also had to study English as the common language. Six years ago (in December 2016), I started learning Russian at a famous language institute in Tehran. It was fun, but I gave up after three terms. Italian is the language I practice whenever I get the chance.

Languages are full of mysteries. Without them, we would never grow mentally. They help us talk and communicate with other people to build new civilizations. Did humans invent languages? Has a divine spirit granted languages to us? There might be different answers to these questions, too! The only thing I’m 100 percent sure about is that I’m very fortunate to be able to learn and use languages.